Dog Years

Over five years I’ve lived a bittersweet lie as David Hargrove’s kept woman, Maria Bell. David’s shown no interest in me beyond what he wants. Love’s a bitter pill to love when it's not returned. I'm bought and paid for. Kept in a gilded cage. David suspects nothing of the secrets I hold. Tonight, David announced he’s marrying my stepsister. He doesn’t know. The level of betrayal I’ve experienced is unbelievable. Everything becomes complicated as the lies surface. Leaving and facing it alone are my only choices. I’m living in fear as I pick up pieces of a life, I believed lost. Blackmail, sabotage, and intrigue dog my steps. I don’t know who I can trust or how to win. I won’t surrender without a fight this time. They don’t recognize me. They won’t see me coming. My name is David Hargrove, and someone is trying to destroy my family. I must marry my rival’s daughter. His stepdaughter signed the contract. Before we learned, she couldn’t deliver the Belgrave empire to me. She can help me secure my family’s empire as my fiancée. I need the ugly biological daughter, Maria Belgrave, who’s hiding. Things get confusing. Maria Belgrave sent two women to represent her. One is my Maria. My missing woman. The betrayal and conflict of interest still stand. I will say when our contract has ended. How can I work with her? I know nothing about her. She owes me answers and loyalty. Perhaps I’ll use this to my advantage. When David learns of Maria’s past life. Will he help her? Or use her and take over the business himself? It starts with an engagement and the death of a patriarch.

The old saying goes, “You may feel good mistreating your spouse, but trying to win them back will be a laborious task.”Before the divorce, Michael saw Ivanka as a heartless, self-serving woman who would stop at nothing to reach her goals. But after the split, the man who once declared that “falling in love makes you a fool” became the fool himself. “Marry me, honey. I love you,” he pleaded. “Marry me, honey. I’m sorry,” he begged. “Marry me, honey. I’ll make it up to you for the rest of my life,” he promised. Ivanka simply retorted, “Would you please stop following me around? You’re driving me crazy. Are you a dog or what?” To this, Michael replied, “I’m your lapdog, honey. I’ll only bark for you.”Ivanka smirked. As a successful lawyer, renowned physician, and elite hacker, why would she ever consider remarrying this worthless man and becoming his caretaker once again?“I won’t remarry you, you b*stard. Stay away from me,” she declared.

Marley Benson is pathetic.  Not because she's a loser or because she's in love with her cousin's boyfriend. Okay, she might be a loser, but it does have everything to do with being in love with her cousin's boyfriend. It isn't Marley's fault that Luca Valentine has beautiful green eyes and a face sculpted by the gods. And so what if Marley is exaggerating, he's that attractive.  However, everything changes when Ares Abernathy decides to make Marley's life even more miserable than it was before.  She can handle watching the love of her life with someone who isn't her. What she can't handle is Ares' sharp words that cut like glass.  Besides, what has she ever done to make her the target of his cruel antics? With Ares at her throat Marley is forced to focus on other things.  Things that have nothing to do with Luca Valentine. Like why does her best friend seem to be hiding something, or why there's a giant dog lurking outside her house?  Or better yet, why is Ares Abernathy so obsessed with her?

"SHE'S NOT EVEN HIS TRUE MATE. I AM! HE'S MINE! I MUST HAVE HIM!" As an omega born without a wolf, I was treated less than a dog in the pack. As a maid to all the pack members, I got maltreated by everyone. Heaven forbid the clan members treat a wolfless and mateless omega like me with respect and love. I was called the clan's 'bad luck'. Is it my fault that I am born an omega? But it's about to change. My Omega wolf changes into a Luna and my mate is none other than the already mated Alpha of the Cosmos Kingdom. I am a TRUE mate to the most powerful Alpha king amongst the werewolves clan. An alpha I fantasize about, every night. A male my body desperately needs. Should I give up on him because another Luna tricked him into believing she's his true mate or should I claim him, no matter the consequences? How far will I go to be with a male that has been destined by the moons to belong to only me?

While the whole world knew about Lyra Hades as the heiress of the 'Hades Group', I, her twin sister, Leilani Hades, was nothing, but her shadow whom nobody knew existed.'Marry Jaxon Grant in my place, and I will consider helping you' When my beloved nanny, the only one who ever cared about me was on the sickbed, at the verge of death, the only condition my twin sister gave in exchange for giving me money for the treatment, was to marry her boyfriend in her place. 'She couldn't be with a man who was just an adopted son. A dog of the Grant's family who was likely to not get any inheritance' that was her excuse for not marrying him, taking advantage of our identical face to fool him.However, there was something weird about my new husband from the day we got married. His aura, his charm, everything about him screamed power. He wasn't an ordinary adopted son whom my sister had mistaken him for. My husband was hiding something from me, but what was it? Does he have a hidden identity?

The wedding had reached the part where the groom kissed the bride. I closed my eyes and leaned in to kiss Stella Stafford, only to end up with a mouthful of fur. Her assistant held up the camera and burst out laughing. "The almighty Mr. Rowe can't even tell if he's kissing a person or a dog?" I stared at the Husky in front of me, its tongue lolling out, and felt my stomach churn. I was about to lay into him when Stella stepped in to block me. "It was just a joke. No hard feelings." Laurent Reilly smirked smugly, his tone dripping with arrogance. "And guess what? This Husky happens to be a female, so why don't you just marry her instead? You're not good enough for Stella anyway." The employees erupted in laughter. Mortified, I kicked him square in the chest, sending him sprawling. The next second, Stella smashed a wine bottle over my head and demanded an apology. I wiped the mix of wine and blood from my face, then dialed an overseas number with a cold grin. "The wedding is short one bride. You in?"

I brought my son, who was around a year old, to visit my parents’ graves, only to run into my childhood friend’s mother. She asked me whether I had returned because I was no longer angry. “Yelena, you’re finally back! You must’ve returned to marry Niel. “I’ll make sure your wedding goes smoothly this time. I won’t allow any random person to ruin it!” Niel Stalner was my childhood friend and ex-fiance. During my engagement party, Cloud Stalner, his foster sister, had barged in while wearing the same gown as I did. She also said that she would kill herself if Niel refused to leave with her. The guests burst into a ruckus, and in the end, I was left alone in the venue. Everyone criticized me, and Niel’s family abandoned me. Eventually, I left the country like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs. I smiled at Neil’s mother, Iris, and pushed the baby stroller forward. “Iris, are you seriously telling me that Niel hasn’t married Cloud yet? Anyway, Michael, say hello.”

I've dated Andrew Carter, my surgeon boyfriend, for seven years. We plan 66 weddings, and he cancels every single one for Selena Merrick. The first time, Selena botched a patient's injection. "Wait for me," he said, and I waited the entire day. The second time, she slipped and fell in the shower. We were just about to exchange rings, but he ditched me at the altar without a second thought, leaving me to face the ridicule from the guests. For all 65 weddings I held, Selena always found an excuse to lure Andrew away. At the 65th wedding, she claimed her dog was dying and threatened to take her life. My mom collapsed from stress-induced angina, yet Andrew still ran to Selena. Afterward, he kneels and begs us for forgiveness. "Selena is just a pitiful orphan, but you're the one I'll always love," he declares. I give him one last chance, yet he never fails to disappoint me. That is it. I break up with Andrew and join Doctors without Borders. Goodbye. Let's never meet again.

Joanne, an 18-year-old high school graduate suddenly woke up one day in an mysterious ancient rainforest. She was saved by a handsome military cadet named Leon who accusing her for trespassing a military exclusion zone. But somehow, she found his turquiose eyes familiar..... This is the Inter-Galaxy Era. She woke up on a strange planet where all men here are stupidly powerful but somehow keep calling themselves as different spieces even though they all look alike under Joanne's eyes. It's alright, self-expression is a basic human right. Joanne couldn't care less; until one day, Leon turns himself into a giant wolf..... O..Okay, no big deal either. Joanne convinces herself. Who cares if it's a dog or a cat or a wolf that saved her? The key point is her life is indeed saved. Then, Leon reveals his true identity as the second to the Throne, Duke of the Empire who is being targeted for assassin this whole time? This is NOT okay anymore! Joanne thought this might be the wrost situation, without knowing one day she will be forced into a marriage with the Heir Apparent, First to the Throne, the top Alpha of the Empire.

On the night of my graduation party, just before my first shift, my boyfriend's childhood sweetheart discovered I might awaken Alpha bloodline. She tricked me into eating a layered cake laced with silver powder. I'm extremely sensitive to silver. After eating it, my chest heaved violently, my eardrums buzzed, and I gasped desperately for air with my mouth wide open. Lynette laughed like a maniac. "There's just a tiny bit of silver powder in that cake. Are you seriously overreacting like this? Who are you putting on this show for?" I collapsed on the ground like a dying dog, begging my boyfriend. "Tyler, please take me to the hospital. I'm really going to die." My boyfriend Tyler Cross looked at me coldly. "How much silver powder could possibly be in such a small piece of cake?" "Lynette's writing her graduation thesis on how Alpha bloodlines suppress silver poisoning. She just needs a little help from you. Do you really need to fake being dead?" My breathing became more and more labored. I stopped begging him. Instead, I pulled out my phone and sent an emergency message with my location to my father, the Alpha King.